But I tell my students to call me one of three things: Professor Hannah, Dr. Hannah, or Hiram. (Most students at my MidSouth regional uni call profs, Professor Whatever.) I actually write all three options on the board.
What do you think my freshmen call me.
Mr. Hannah.
I look at them the first time and I say, "I'd rather you call me Skeets, my childhood nickname, than MISTER Hannah."
They laugh. They leave the room at the end of class, "See you Thursday, Mr. Hannah."
One day I'm bringing a baseball bat to class with "Mr. Hannah" written on it with magic marker. I will say to them, "I'm the one who knocks." (BB ref.)
I don't mind being addressed as "Mr. Frankenstien." I know that my students don't have the authority to revoke my Ph.D. I also know in my heart that I haven't done anything to deserve it. (What my students get from me is a WHOLE lot better than what I got from my professors.)
ReplyDeleteWhat I do mind is being addressed as "Frankenstien." Whenever this happens, at the very minimum I put the offending student on the spot, and point out that bosses in the real world won't like being addressed by their last name only, since it's very bad manners. I don't touch the student, though, since that's what undid Bobby Knight.
If I'm in an uncharitable mood, I'm liable to start the learning experience by screaming, "WERE YOU BORN IN A BARN?" But of course, I have tenure.
And of course, some of them think the issue is that I'm not being addressed as "Doctor" or "Professor." That's not it at all: I make sure to clarify that they may call me "Mr. Frankenstien." The problem here is that someone really ought to have told them that it’s extremely rude to address anyone by their last name only. The only person who can get away with it is an army sergeant, and if this were the military, I’d outrank YOU.
P.S. A baseball bat won't suffice here. What you need to do is to convey the impression that, while ripping their arm out of the socket and beating them over the head with it might not be your immediate course of action, in the back of your mind it isn't a bad idea.
DeleteI find the last name only thing purely generational.
DeleteI get called by my last name by athletes a lot. They abbreviate it to my initials, which is cute, but I don't get it.
DeleteHiram, we often called our profs by their last names (granted, I suspect I am not of your generation), but we never did it to their face (Oh God, the thought of calling Dr. J____ by his last name alone to his face makes me shudder even after twenty years). To this day, I still call some of my grad school profs "Dr." when I see them at conferences and the like. Habit.
DeleteI have a freshman student this semester who insists on calling me "Miss." No name attached--just "Miss." I have pointed out, politely, that "Miss" isn't at all relevant or appropriate to the situation and that if he's not sure what to call someone, "Professor" always works. But what will I hear when I walk into class today? "Miss! Miss!"
ReplyDeleteIf I had a baseball bat, I'd probably miss.
One possible response is "I'm not shooting at anything at the moment. But that could be arranged, if you keep calling me that."
DeleteOh, dear. I don't much like "professor," but "miss" (or, more likely these days, "ma'am") would drive me, too, up a wall. If you've had the exchange about what you prefer to be called, then the next course of action is probably to refuse to respond until the student addresses you properly (perhaps with one warning that that's what you're going to do).
DeleteOh, dear. I don't much like "professor," but "miss" (or, more likely these days, "ma'am") would drive me, too, up a wall. If you've had the exchange about what you prefer to be called, then the next course of action is probably to refuse to respond until the student addresses you properly (perhaps with one warning that that's what you're going to do).
DeleteIs the student Latino or Latina? Students who are part of this culture often address their professors as Miss. yes, it can drive you up a wall but i have been told from these students that it is a sign of respect.
DeleteI love how some of my students think I'm gay, and then the others will call me Mrs. Nope, wrong on both ends. I do the, "Mrs. Sapphire is my mother" Dr or Prof. is fine.
ReplyDeleteDo gay people get a special honorific? Should they be calling me Doctor Fabulous?
DeleteI'll call you Dr. Fabulous, Chilt. :)
DeleteI read this to mean that if you're gay, they don't call you "Mrs."
Off topic:
ReplyDeleteThis has come up before. When someone is posting a regular column, like Hiram and Tingle currently, is it possible they can be top posted for a bit on those days? I mean, Hiram gets something up every Tuesday and when I logged on this morning ago he was 5th on the page, in fact, almost off the first page. That's not fair.
Tingle took his own chance with the Big Thirsty by picking Thursday, but by using the time controls in Blogger you could give regular contributors a few hours at the top of the page.
I know from experience that most viewers never read more than the top 2-3 posts on any blog.
YOU saw it. No offense to Hiram, but if the writing is good enough you'll get the eyeballs. No futzing with the time.
DeleteFair enough, but I saw it because I was going through all the posts, adding photos and jumps, fixing typos, spacing, fonts, you know.
DeleteMy point would be that perhaps it would dissuade someone - not Hiram, he's unstoppable - from posting regularly if their work gets swamped.
To be fair, at RYS we completely controlled the appearance of every post and its time, so we never had the problem. It's different here I know, but I was just wondering what others thought.
I found Hiram, too, because I know that this blog may have 2 entries I can see, or 6 I cannot see, on any given day... but if you do make a new rule, make it across the board for anyone posting original material, not just for one or two people who happened to choose a day on which to post.
DeleteI'm guessing that if any one of us gets an entry 'privileged,' when it isn't a rule that regulars' posts stay up at the top for a few hours, we'll get the slew of "you're a clique" and "you have favorites" here.
I propose that any NEW posts (not reposts, flashbacks, or linked articles) that are actual content from anyone (not just regulars) stay for a few hours, and any old entries (Flashbacks) wait it out for when we have no new posts. Is that too much work for the Mods? I'd hate to see them burdened further.
Not long ago, to test the mike before starting the class (and to test if they remembered it) I said "SAY MY NAME..." in a dark tone of voice, hoping to get a few smiles (BB ref). They didn't get it.
ReplyDeleteHAHA!! Love it. "Goddamn right."
DeleteI'm always baffled when they raise their hands and yell, "Teacher." I thought that went out in Elementary School.
ReplyDeleteBut mostly, because I have a really long last name (not a complicated one, but long), I usually get a "Hey, Um..." rather than anyone calling me "Professor" or "Dr."